Lightning's Teething Trouble
by CarsWorldFan
Summary: This is the first in a series of one-shots and short stories set between Lightning's Secret and Goodbye Doc. They will focus on family life between Lightning, his mother, Elinor, and his stepfather, Doc. Something is wrong with Lightning, but Doc can't work out what it is, until one day...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All recognisable character's belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 1

January 2008

Someone knocked loudly on the bedroom door. It was Doc.

"Get yourself up, son," he ordered Lightning.

For the past two weeks, Lightning had been staying with his step-father, Doc, and his mother, Elinor, in their home behind the Radiator Springs clinic, while the racing museum and his own home behind it underwent an extension. Lightning had wanted to stay over at the Cozy Cone motel with his girlfriend, Sally, but both Doc and Elinor had put a stop to it.

"Call me old-fashioned," Elinor had said, "But a couple should not start living together unless they are properly engaged."

"But, mum…! Things are different now!" Lightning had protested, glancing at Doc for support. But Doc had just shaken his hood.

"Your mother's quite right, Lightning," he'd said.

Lightning had pouted. "You're only on her side because you're married to her."

"Lightning…" Doc had growled sternly. Since his marriage to Elinor, Doc had adopted a more father-like growl, instead of the gruff, indifferent growl he used to have. To Lightning, it showed that the old race car really did care about him as a father would.

Lightning had been quick to back down after that! As he'd left the room, he'd heard Doc mutter under his breath, "Teenagers!" He was sure Doc had rolled his eyes as well.

Now, it was 6am, and Doc was waking Lightning up for his racing practice down at Willy's Butte. Or at least, he was _trying _to wake Lightning up for his racing practice down at Willy's Butte. But, as usual, the young race car wasn't interested in getting up so early. In the near distance, Doc could hear Sarge and Fillmore having their usual morning 'battle of the bands'. With a groan, Doc entered Lightning's bedroom. He couldn't help smiling when he saw Lightning hiding under his favourite red blanket, snoring softly. He sounded perfectly content. It was almost a shame to wake him.

Doc gently nudged Lightning's front left fender. "Wake up, Lightning. It's time to train."

Moaning with annoyance, Lightning reluctantly peeked out from beneath his blanket. "Go away!"

Doc chuckled. He'd lost count of how many times Lightning had said that to him of a morning. It had almost become a game. Using his tyre, Doc pulled the blanket off Lightning.

"Come on. Get yourself up. It's time to train."

Lightning just groaned again, and he closed his eyes. "Seriously, Doc… I'm not up to it this morning."

Doc frowned with concern. "Are you sick?"

"I don't know…" Lightning sighed. He looked ready to fall asleep again.

Doc left the room, returning a moment later with a thermometer. Lightning slowly blinked open his eyes.

"Open your mouth," Doc ordered him. "We'll see just how sick you are!"

Lightning hesitated, but then he turned away from Doc, refusing.

"Do as I say, or I'll shove it up your exhaust!" Doc growled.

The threat worked, and Lightning reluctantly opened his mouth. Beside their undercarriage and fuel tank inlet, a car's exhaust was a very personal part.

Doc gently placed the thermometer underneath Lightning's tongue, and Lightning closed his lips around it. After a couple of minutes, Doc took the thermometer out of Lightning's mouth. He frowned when he saw that it read 99˚F.

"You do have a very slight temperature," Doc informed him. "Because of that, I won't pressure you to train today if you really don't feel up to it. However, to be on the safe side, I'd like to thoroughly examine you later, okay?"

Lightning nodded, closing his eyes again. He was fast asleep again almost before Doc had left the room.

…

A few hours later, Elinor gently woke Lightning. He reluctantly opened his eyes.

"Hey there, sweetie," she said soothingly. "Are you feeling any better?"

"A bit," Lightning sighed.

Elinor placed his breakfast in front of him. "Here's your breakfast. Hudson would like to see you once you've finished it, to do some tests. He's just treating a little boy with a dislocated axle right now."

"Sounds painful," Lightning muttered before placing his lips around a straw. He wasn't hungry, but he sure was thirsty!

"I understand he did it falling into a cactus patch," Elinor said with a wink. "I seem to remember another car who has a habit of driving into cactus patches…"

Lightning groaned. Trust his mother to bring that up! At least the prickly cactus reminded him never to make the same mistake again!

Ten minutes later, Lightning entered the main part of the clinic. He was just in time to see Doc filling a syringe with painkiller for the young injured car. The little boy huddled up against his mother, whimpering fearfully.

Lightning felt sorry for the young car. He couldn't have been more than six years old. Lightning had had enough surgical procedures in his life to not be afraid of doctors. But not being afraid of them didn't mean he had to enjoy them. No car liked having a doctor poking around at their engine bay or undercarriage, but most just put up with it as a necessary evil. Even with Doc as his step-father, Lightning's view on doctors hadn't changed. He regarded himself as having a healthy respect for them.

Lightning drove closer to the little boy. "Hey there. What's your name?"

"M-Mark," the child whispered. Then, looking up at Lightning, he gasped. "Y-you're Lightning McQueen!"

"Now, how on earth did you figure that out?" Lightning teased.

"I've watched all of your races," Mark answered, starting to smile. "You're really fast!"

"How fast do you think I can go?"

"Hmm… A hundred miles per hour?"

Lightning chuckled. "Nup! Guess again."

"A hundred and fifty miles per hour!"

Lightning shook his hood. "Would you like me to tell you?"

Before Mark could reply, Doc quickly and skilfully inserted the syringe inside his fuel tank, and he depressed the plunger. Startled, Mark yelped, and he started to cry. His mother gently comforted him.

"There now," Doc said kindly. "It's all over now." He looked at Mark's mother. "He should be fine to drive on it now. Just make sure he doesn't do anything silly or it could dislocate again. The painkiller should make him drowsy for a few hours anyway."

"Thank you, Doc," the mother said.

"Mark?" Lightning called gently.

"Y-yes?" Mark sniffled.

"I can go at over two hundred and twenty miles per hour."

Mark's eyes widened in amazement until his mother nudged him.

"Come along now, Mark. We need to get back to the motel, and we mustn't waste Mr McQueen's time. I'm sure he's very busy."

Mark looked rather disappointed until Lightning quickly rubbed his tyre on Mark's side, giving him an autograph. Mark grinned, before he hurried after his mother. Lightning turned to face Doc.

"That was nice," Doc said. "I was having a lot of trouble with him. Thank you for distracting him. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes."

"Did you eat all of your breakfast?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Lightning shrugged. "I wasn't hungry."

Doc stared thoughtfully at Lightning for a moment. Lightning knew that Doc was concerned that he might be coming down with something.

"I think I'll run some oil and fuel tests, just to be sure," Doc finally said.

Lightning groaned. He knew what that meant. Needles.

"Are you going to stay still for me, or do I have to restrain you?" Doc asked.

Pouting, Lightning drove onto the hydraulic lift, giving Doc his answer. Doc pressed a button, and clamps shot out from beneath the rolling road, securing Lightning to it. Lightning closed his eyes as Doc prepared the hypodermic syringe. Having been through all this before, Lightning had already popped his hood by the time Doc came over to him.

"I see I've got you well-trained," Doc chuckled.

"There's no point in resisting the inevitable, is there?"

"No, I suppose not. Now, keep still."

Lightning winced as Doc stuck the needle inside one of his oil lines. He could feel the oil being taken out of him. Doc didn't take much, but it was enough to make Lightning feel faint.

"I wonder how many of your fans know you're a fainter?" Doc asked in an attempt to snap Lightning out of it, while he sealed the hole the needle had made in the oil line.

"None, I hope," Lightning said softly.

Doc chuckled. "There now. That's all over with. Lucky it's the off-season, so if you are coming down with something, it shouldn't affect your racing."

Lightning didn't bother to reply. Instead, he closed his hood. Doc brought over a large syringe with a long tube attached to the end. He'd just inserted the tube inside Lightning's fuel tank, when the race car finally fainted. Grunting, Doc proceeded with the procedure. He carefully removed a small amount of fuel from Lightning's tank, before taking it over to the bench for testing.

About an hour later, Doc had Lightning's test results. Lightning had recovered from his faint by then, and so he joined Doc inside his office. Doc was glancing through the results on his computer, looking for anything abnormal.

"It all looks fine to me," he said at last. He looked straight at Lightning. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"Are you sure?" Lightning asked. "I'm still feeling a bit run down."

"Are you hungry yet?"

"No, but I am thirsty."

"Okay. I might take your temperature again."

Doc placed the thermometer inside Lightning's mouth again. When he read it, he shook his hood with concern.

"It's now reading ninety-nine point two," he told Lightning. "It's gone up from earlier this morning."

"Maybe I am coming down with something."

"Maybe…" Doc looked at the computer screen again. "But it's not a virus or an infection. That would've shown up in the tests. I'm going to keep taking your temperature for the next forty-eight hours. If you are coming down with something, we should know by then. In the meantime, keep drinking and please try to eat something. And your training is cancelled until this is over and dealt with."

"What do you think it is?"

"I don't know at this stage, son. I'm sorry, but you've got me completely bewildered. I'll do some research, and I'll let you know if I find anything significant. Off you go now, but please stay within the town. I don't want you breaking down in the middle of nowhere."

"Okay," Lightning agreed.

…

About an hour later, Mater slowly entered the clinic looking very upset. "Doc?" he called.

"What's up, Mater?" Doc asked, coming over. "You look as though you've lost your best friend."

Mater's lower lips twitched as he struggled to hold back his tears. Doc immediately realised his mistake.

"Oh, Mater! I'm so sorry. What's wrong?"

"Lightnin' jus' snapped a' me, an' alls I asked him ta do was go tracta tippin' tonight. I though' youse should know, since yer his step-dad an' all."

Doc let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry he treated you badly, Mater, but Lightning's not feeling too well at the moment. That's no excuse for bad behaviour though. Where is he now?"

Mater shrugged. "Las' I saws, he was headin' to da café."

Doc looked out of the window. Sure enough, Lightning was over at the café, drinking a can of oil alongside Sally.

"Mater? If you hear him arguing with anyone else, send him to me at once, please."

"Sure, Doc," Mater replied despondently.

"Don't take whatever he said seriously. He didn't mean it, and I'm sure he'll be sorry for it once he's thought about it."

"Yeah. Okay." And Mater slowly left the clinic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 2

Later that evening, Doc and Elinor joined the rest of the Radiator Springs residents at the café. Flo was bustling around as usual, serving all her friends. She paused in front of Lightning.

"Are you sure I can't get you anything to eat, honey?"

"No thanks, Flo."

"Still not hungry, son?" Doc asked, parking beside the race car.

Lightning shook his hood.

"He's been very thirsty though," Flo told Doc, before driving over to attend to Luigi and Guido.

Doc glanced over at Lightning. The young race car was starting to pant, which was very strange, since it was winter, and he looked distressed.

"Come with me, son," Doc ordered him.

Lightning was only too happy to oblige. A moment later, they entered the clinic. Doc promptly took Lightning's temperature again.

"Ninety-nine point eight," he said, reading the thermometer. "I think you should go to bed now. I'll put your air-conditioning down to sixty-four degrees. That should help bring your temperature down."

"But I'm already cold," Lightning whimpered, shivering slightly. "It is winter, remember?"

Doc continued frowning. "You have a fever. That's why you're cold. You'll feel hot again soon. I'll stay here inside the house, so if you need me, just shout." He set the air conditioning before leaving Lightning's bedroom.

Lightning spent a very restless night. Doc checked up on him several times during the night, taking his temperature twice.

Finally, shortly after dawn, Lightning's fever broke, and he drifted off into a very peaceful sleep. Doc took the opportunity to go and get some breakfast. He wasn't too tired, since he was used to staying up all night with patients, but he was still very concerned about Lightning.

After he'd had some breakfast, Doc went into his study. He was starting to think that Lightning might be suffering from an illness due to a low immune system. He knew that elite athletes often suffered from immune illnesses, so it was just possible that that was what Lightning had.

But after searching through his books and online for a couple of hours, Doc finally gave up. He couldn't find any illnesses with the same symptoms Lightning was showing. He'd have to leave it for now, because he had other sick and injured cars to attend to.

Around lunch time, Elinor brought Doc something to eat.

"Thank you, dear," he said, smiling appreciatively. "How's Lightning?"

"He's still fast asleep. Sometimes I feel sad that I never got to actually raise him. Gracie had that privilege."

"You don't regret having him built, do you?"

"No, of course, not! But, Blaze and I only wanted a child to inherit our wealth; not a child to love. We just never expected that Lightning wouldn't want to follow in his father's tyre-prints. I'm sorry. I shouldn't talk about Blaze in front of you."

"It's perfectly all right. You loved him, and to me that is important. Blaze died a tragic death that should never have happened. You have nothing to be ashamed of by talking about him to me."

Elinor smiled and nodded. "Are you sure you don't know what's wrong with Lightning?"

"I'm afraid he's got me completely stumped," Doc sighed. "I've never come across anything like this before."

"Maybe you should seek a second opinion. I know doctors hate asking other doctors for advice, but surely it's worth it when our son's health is at risk?"

"As a matter of fact, I was already considering doing that. I'm going to visit a friend of mine later this afternoon. I should be back before dinnertime."

…

A few hours later, Doc arrived in a nearby township; about a half hour's drive from Radiator Springs. The doctor there was an old friend of his, Doctor Greg Knowles. He was rather surprised to see Doc.

"Doc Hudson! It's been a while since I last saw you. What brings you here today?"

"My step-son is ill, but I can't diagnose what is wrong with him. That's why I've come to see you."

"Well, if you can't diagnose it, I'm not sure if I can. What are the symptoms?"

"He's refusing to eat, but he's drinking a lot. He also had a bad fever last night, but it broke this morning."

"I see. Anything else?"

"Uh, let me think. Yes…he snapped at his best friend yesterday; something he wouldn't normally do. Even when he's annoyed with Mater, he manages to restrain himself and discuss things calmly with him. He's also lost interest in practicing his racing."

"For Lightning McQueen, that's very serious."

"You can understand the sensitivity of the situation."

"Of course. I know this is a silly question, but have you tested him for a virus or infection?"

Doc nodded. "All negative."

"I see. Well, from the list of symptoms you've given me, I wonder if he just might be in pain somewhere. Has he had any crashes lately?"

"No. At least, not that I know of. But everything else about him is completely normal. I'd say he's as fit and healthy as ever, expect that he won't eat."

"Is he sleeping normally?"

"I believe so. But you know how young adults are."

"Yes… Up late and sleep late."

There was silence for a moment while Dr Greg thought through everything. Then he spoke again.

"I wouldn't rule out the pain factor just yet. Why don't you ask him straight out if he's hurting somewhere. It doesn't have to even be physical pain. It could be emotional, and it might be affecting his sleep. I'd monitor that closely too."

"Okay. Thank you. I'll let you know if he gets any worse. I might need your help."

…

Upon returning to Radiator Springs, Doc went in search of Lightning. He was surprised to find him down at Willy's Butte, doing some laps. Doc signalled for him to stop.

"I thought I told you not to practice," Doc growled once Lightning had skidded to a stop in front of him.

"I'm feeling fine now, Doc," Lightning insisted.

Doc gave Lightning a hard push from behind. "I'll be the judge of that! You need to rest after having a fever."

Lightning defiantly spun around to face Doc. "I told you, I'm fine now!"

"Lightning Blaze McQueen!" Doc shouted, pushing himself up on his shocks a bit so he could look down at his stepson. Lightning cringed sheepishly, knowing he was in for it now. Now that he had Lightning's attention, Doc lowered himself down again, but he maintained eye contact with Lightning. He let out a sigh. "Tell me the truth, son. Are you in pain anywhere?"

"No," Lightning answered without hesitating.

Doc nodded thoughtfully. He knew that Lightning was telling him the truth. "Get back to town."

Sighing heavily, Lightning begrudgingly obeyed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 3

Over the next few days, Doc watched Lightning closely, but everything seemed fine. He resumed eating, and he apologised to Mater for snapping at him. Doc put Lightning's fever down to a twenty-four hour flu. He believed that the tests had failed to pick it up because the flu was so short in duration. To make up for being so mean to Mater, Lightning reluctantly agreed to go tractor tipping with him. Lightning knew that Doc didn't approve of tractor tipping, because it meant a late night and there was every possibility that Lightning could get injured. But since Lightning wasn't training at the moment, he was sure he'd be able to get away with it.

Sure enough, Doc and Elinor were fast asleep by the time Lightning snuck out of the house at around ten-thirty. He met Mater at their rendezvous point outside the drive-in cinema.

"Der you are!" Mater exclaimed excitedly.

"Shh!" Lightning hissed. "Doc's a light sleeper. I was lucky to get out without getting caught!"

"It sure is purty funny dat you're more scared of Doc now dat he's yer step-dad!"

Lightning gave Mater 'the look'. "Are we going tractor tipping, or are you just going to stand there insulting my family?"

"Nah, I jus' think it's funny dat yer behavin' like a kid who's scared of his parents!" Seeing Lightning continuing to give him 'the look', Mater closed his mouth. "Let's go,' he muttered.

The two best friend headed down to the tractor field, and they crept through a gap in the fence. Mater went first. Sneaking up on a sleeping tractor, he sounded his horn loudly. Surprised, the tractor woke up, started forwards, but then it toppled over backwards, mooing. Once it had landed on its back, it backfired. Mater and Lightning burst out laughing.

"Do a few more, Mater, then I'll do the rest."

"Okey-dokey!"

Mater tipped over a few more tractors. Lightning then took up his position in the middle of the field, ready for his turn. When Mater was done, he gestured to Lightning. Taking a deep breath, Lightning revved his engine as loudly as he could. Startled, the rest of the tractors woke up, and they all tipped over in unison, backfiring simultaneously.

Mater and Lightning were still laughing, when suddenly…

"Hey! What do you two think you're doing?"

"Oh, dang! It's Sherriff!" Mater exclaimed.

Sure enough, Sherriff drove into the field, headlights blazing. He aimed them directly at Mater and Lightning, who squinted in the bright light. Their eyes widened when they saw something looming up behind Sherriff.

"Uh, Sherriff…" Lightning began. "I think you'd better start driving… Fast."

"Give me one good reason why I should?"

Mater and Lightning exchanged a quick glance. Then, together, they said, "Frank."

Glancing behind him, Sherriff's eyes widened when he saw Frank, the huge combine harvester, standing directly behind him! Turning on his headlights, Frank bellowed furiously. Sherriff screamed!

Mater and Lightning had already taken off across the field, laughing hysterically. Sherriff floored it, putting on his red and blue pursuit lights in the hope that it might distract Frank. They did at first, giving Sherriff just enough time to get away from Frank.

Minutes later, Mater, Lightning and Sherriff were standing safely out on the road, trying to catch their breath. Mater and Lightning couldn't stop laughing though.

"Oh, your expression when you saw Frank was priceless, Sherriff!" Lightning laughed.

"Hehe! Oh, that's funny right there!" Mater chuckled. "Who'da known dat Sherriff screamed like a girl?"

"Hmm!" Sherriff grunted. "It wasn't all that funny from my point of view. And Mater, I've warned you more than enough times to stay out of that field."

"Aww! Come on, Sherriff! It was jus' a bi' of fun! We ain't hurt nobody!"

"Be that as it may, you were still trespassing. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to fine the both of you. If you want to play, you're going to have to pay for it."

"Well, that's just typical!" Lightning exclaimed.

Sherriff glared at him. "Would you rather do community service instead?"

Lightning gasped. Then he pouted. "I'll take the fine."

"Good. And now I'll escort the two of you back to town."

"Oh, you're not going to tell my parents about this, are you?" Lightning whined.

"Of course I am! They have every right to know."

"I'm not a kid anymore, Sherriff!"

"So? You're still living with them."

"Only temporarily."

"I'd still tell them regardless."

Lightning pouted again. Behind him, Mater chuckled. Lightning spun around. Mater was lucky. If looks could kill, he'd have been fried in an instant!

"You'll pay for this, Mater!"

"Hey! It ain't my fault!"

"Come along, you two!" Sherriff ordered, giving Lightning a push from behind.

They left Mater at his yard. Sherriff then escorted Lightning over to Doc's house behind the clinic. Lightning gulped when he saw that the front light was on. Before Sherriff could knock, Doc opened the door.

"Get inside," he ordered Lightning. "I'll take it from here, Sherriff."

Nodding, Sherriff drove away into the night. Sighing, Lightning entered the house. Doc closed the door quietly.

"Thought you could sneak out without me hearing you, huh? You should know better than that."

"I'm sorry, Doc, but I had to make up to Mater somehow."

"Go to bed," Doc sighed. "We'll discuss this more in the morning."

Doc turned the light off, and they went into their separate rooms. Elinor stirred a bit when Doc settled down beside her.

"What happened?" she asked sleepily.

"That son of ours decided to go tractor tipping with Mater."

"Oh. You have to let him have some fun in his life."

"There is a limit, Elinor. I know you love him and all, but even you have to admit that some of the education he had during his teenage years is questionable. I doubt Peter and Susan took the time to teach him much. The racing scene hasn't helped him either. He's grown up rebellious and selfish. I'm doing my best to change that, but it's slow going. At least he respects me enough to listen to me. So far, he only obeys me after arguing. We need to stop that, and get him to obey without questioning."

"He is twenty years old," Elinor pointed out.

"Just. But in some ways, he behaves like a fifteen year old. Please, just work with me on re-educating him."

"Okay, I'll try. Goodnight, Hudson."

"Goodnight, Elinor."

…

The next morning, Doc gave Lightning a very long talk about responsibility. Lightning listened attentively, but he didn't say anything, even after Doc had finished speaking.

"One more thing," Doc added as Lightning was about to leave. "I don't want you to go tractor tipping with Mater ever again. Understood?"

"Yes, Doc," Lightning sighed. Then he headed outside.

Lightning found Sally attending to her customers over at the Cozy Cone motel.

"Hey, Sally. I'm sorry if you're busy."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I could use the break. So, I hear that Doc gave you a lecture this morning."

"Mater told you, huh?"

"Uh, uh. Elinor."

"Oh."

"I hope you listened to Doc."

"Yeah. I did."

"Good. You do need a bit of sense knocked into you."

Lightning pouted. "He's told me not to go tractor tipping again."

"I'm glad. Mater's a nice guy, but he's a bit of a bad influence on you."

"In what way?"

"Lightning, trespassing is a crime, and-."

"I know, I know! Doc's already been over that. Anyway, I'd better let you get back to work. Would you like some help?"

"Thanks, but I think I've got it covered."

"Okay. Drinks later?"

"Only if you're shouting."

"Fine. I'll see you later."

…

Lightning kept mostly to himself for the rest of the day. Even Mater did his work quietly without annoying anyone. Later that evening, they joined everyone else at Flo's for drinks. As promised, Lightning bought Sally's.

"I hope you boys aren't planning any tractor tipping tonight," Sherriff said.

"After what happened last night?" Lightning chuckled. He glanced over at Mater, who grinned sheepishly. "I think we'll leave it for tonight."

"Wise idea," Sherriff said, winking.

Lightning looked slyly at Sherriff. "Why don't you have a go at it, Sherriff? I'm sure Frank would love to hear you scream again!"

"Do you wanna spend the night in the impound?" Sherriff growled.

Doc thumped Lightning with his tyre. "Stop pushing your luck." Then he grinned wickedly. "Actually, Sherriff, that might not be such a bad idea… Might teach him some more manners."

Lightning cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Sherriff. I shouldn't have said that."

Sherriff nodded, accepting the apology. Doc glanced at his stepson.

_He sure is a fast learner,_ he thought proudly.

About an hour later, the Radiator Springs residents went to their separate homes to go to bed. But Lightning, for some strange reason, couldn't fall asleep. It took him a few hours to realise the reason for his restlessness.

His mouth hurt. Badly. Something was wrong with it, but he had no idea what it was. Finally, he couldn't take the throbbing pain anymore, so he went to his parents' room. He knocked softly on the door.

"Doc?"

He heard Doc coming. Then Doc opened the door.

"What's up, son?"

"I need a painkiller, please."

"What for?"

"My mouth really hurts."

Sighing, Doc led the way into his clinic. He opened up one of the medicine cabinets. "Where exactly is the pain?"

"At the back of my mouth."

Doc froze as the realisation dawned on him. It all made sense to him now. Lightning's unexplained fever… His snapping at Mater… Being off his food... His age… Slowly, Doc turned around to face Lightning.

"Lightning… Son… I think you're cutting your wisdom teeth."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 4

The next morning, Lightning found himself with Doc inside the dental clinic in a large town about an hour's drive from Radiator Springs. He wasn't terribly happy about it.

"I'm not a child anymore, Doc. You didn't have to come with me."

"Oh, yes I did! I know you too well, Lightning. You'd have taken off to the other side of the country before coming in here, and you know it!"

Lightning muttered something under his breath. He knew that Doc was right. Like most cars, he didn't like dentists at all! He was feeling really nervous about this.

"I know this is a stupid question, Doc, but what exactly are Wisdom teeth?"

"No question is stupid," Doc replied. "Wisdom teeth are an extra set of molars that cut through when cars are aged between fifteen and twenty-five. They're nearly always removed, because they have a tendency to overcrowd the mouth."

"Oh. How are they removed?"

Before Doc could answer, the dentist's assistant came into the waiting room. "Lightning McQueen?"

"Sometimes I wish I had a pseudonym," Lightning sighed as everyone in the waiting room looked at him. Doc gave him a firm nudge towards the dentist's office.

The dentist, a forklift named Dr Neil, smiled as Lightning and Doc entered the room. "So, it really is you!"

"If any of what takes place in this room ends up in the media, I can assure you I was personally sue you to within an inch of your life!" Lightning snapped.

"Whoa! Easy there! I always honour patient confidentiality, no matter who they are," Dr Neil replied sincerely. "Right, so, what's the problem?"

"I believe he's cutting his wisdom teeth," Doc answered on Lightning's behalf.

"I can believe that! It would explain his irritability. Can you get onto the lift for me, please, Lightning?"

Lightning drove onto the hydraulic lift, and Dr Neil raised it high enough to enable him to easily look inside Lightning's mouth. He adjusted the light before picking up a small dental mirror and a dental pick. Knowing what Dr Neil wanted, Lightning closed his eyes and he slowly opened his mouth.

After Dr Neil had spent a few minutes poking around inside Lightning's mouth, he let the race car rest. Lightning gratefully closed his mouth and he opened his eyes.

"I must say, for a racer, your teeth are in very good condition. Normally, racers lose or damage some of their teeth in collisions." He turned to Doc. "You're right. He is cutting his Wisdom teeth. I can see three crowns coming through."

"Shouldn't there be four?" Lightning wondered.

"Not always. Sometimes, there are only one, two or even three Wisdom teeth. But I believe you have four. Sometimes, the tooth can get stuck in the gum, leaving it to rot and cause the gum to become infected. That is why Wisdom teeth are usually removed. They're just troublemakers. I'll take an x-ray to find out what's going on."

"Would the Wisdom teeth cutting through have caused a fever?" Doc asked.

"Most definitely," Dr Neil replied confidently. "It's a big change in the mouth, and it can affect young cars in all sorts of ways. Okay, let's take those x-rays."

Fifteen minutes later, the x-rays had been taken and developed. The assistant handed them over to Dr Neil, who placed them against a screen with a backlight. Doc joined him to examine them.

"That's definitely impacted," Lightning heard Dr Neil mutter. "Most cars would be in absolute agony over that!"

"Racers are pretty much impervious to pain," Doc replied.

"Well, you should know!"

Lightning sniggered. Doc flashed him a glare, making Lightning gulp. Dr Neil turned around to look at him.

"I was right. You do have four Wisdom teeth cutting through, but the one in your top left-hand side is impacted, meaning that it's stuck. It'll have to be surgically removed."

Lightning groaned audibly. "How long will it take for me to recover?"

"A few weeks," Dr Neil replied.

"A few weeks?" Lightning exclaimed. "But the racing season starts in just under a month!"

"You'll be fine to race," Dr Neil assured him. "You'll just be in a lot of pain. But I know you can handle that."

Lightning rolled his eyes.

"How soon can the surgery be done?" Doc asked.

"I'll have to talk to the orthodontic surgeon at the hospital first. It should be within the next week."

Dr Neil pressed the lever to lower the hydraulic lift, and Lightning drove off it.

"In the meantime," Dr Neil continued, "You can give him painkillers whenever he needs them. I think it'll be easier on him if all of the Wisdom teeth are removed at the same time. It will hurt him more initially, but then at least it'll be over with."

"I'd prefer that," Lightning agreed.

"That's settled then," Dr Neil smiled. "I'll phone you once I've arranged everything."

"Thank you," Doc said. He and Lightning then left the office.

As they passed through the waiting room, Lightning groaned when he saw everyone looking at him again.

"It's at times like this when I wish I had a normal life!" he muttered with frustration.

"Trust me, son. Your life will never be normal," Doc chuckled as he pushed Lightning out the door.

About an hour later, Doc and Lightning arrived back at Radiator Springs. They went inside the clinic, where Elinor was busy tidying up.

"What's the verdict?" she asked.

"It is his Wisdom teeth," Doc replied. "He's cutting all four of them, and one is impacted. He's going to have them removed within the next week."

Elinor looked sympathetically at Lightning. "I'm sorry about that, honey, but you'll feel much better once they're good."

"So everyone keeps saying." Lightning sighed. "I only hope nobody tries to make a souvenir out of them."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Doc assured him. "It won't happen, I can assure you."

"I'm going to go and tell Sally," Lightning said. And he drove out of the clinic.

Later that evening, Doc was in his office going through some Piston Cup paperwork, when the phone rang. It was Dr Neil.

"I've arranged for Lightning to have his Wisdom teeth removed on Thursday afternoon," he said. "I hope that suits you?"

"Yes, I think that'll be okay," Doc replied. "I take it he'll have to be at the hospital that morning?"

"Correct. Oh, and make sure he doesn't have anything to eat or drink from three o'clock on Wednesday afternoon. He's going to be completely under for the operation."

"I can do that. Anything else?"

"No, I think that's all."

"Great. Thank you very much."

After Doc had hung up the phone, he drove into the lounge room, where Elinor was watching TV.

"Where's Lightning?"

"I saw him take off with Mater some time ago," Elinor replied.

"If he's gone tractor tipping again…" Doc scowled. But he couldn't think of what else to say. Sighing, he left the house. Parenthood was harder than he'd ever imagined it to be!

A few minutes later, Doc was about to start driving through the town to look for Lightning, when the race car revealed himself. He shot past Doc, going flat out. Mater followed him a few seconds later. Bringing up the rear was Sherriff, who was panting heavily from the chase.

"I wasn't built for this!" Sherriff wheezed, stopping beside Doc. He collapsed wearily onto his undercarriage.

"What happened?"

"What happened?" Sherriff exploded. "I'll tell you what happened! That cheeky, no-good stepson of yours and his sidekick threw a cactus at me! And it wasn't a little one either!"

Doc discreetly glanced at Sherriff's rear bumper. Sure enough, numerous large cactus spikes were protruding from the police car's sensitive rear end. Doc's mouth twitched. He was trying desperately hard not to burst out laughing.

"Well…" he coughed. "At least he hasn't been tractor tipping…"

"You think this is funny?"

"Yes," Doc replied simply.

Sherriff glowered at him.

"Ease up, Sherriff. I'll go and chase him down for you."

Before Sherriff could say anything else, Doc took off, flooring it. He had a vague idea as to where Lightning and Mater had gone.

Sure enough, he soon found them, sipping contently on warm drinks at the Wheel Well motel. They were grinning and laughing between sips. Doc silently parked himself directly behind them.

"Oh, dang! Dat was funny!"

"Yeah," Lightning agreed. "We should do it again sometime! His reaction was priceless!"

Doc cleared his throat. He smirked when he saw the two pranksters freeze.

"You know, I think you two should spend the night in the impound," Doc said. "That'll teach you to play tricks on Sherriff."

Lightning and Mater gasped with relief before turning around.

"Oh, goodness! Don't do that, Doc! We thought it was Sherriff!" Lightning exclaimed.

Doc gave him a rough push towards the road. "You're going to apologise to Sherriff right now! I don't need any imagination to know that this was your idea! And I'll speak to you later, Mater!"

Mater chuckled to himself as Doc and Lightning left. "Later, Mater! Dat's funny right there!"

**Please review! I greatly appreciate any feedback. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 5

Doc paced the hallway anxiously. Every now and again, he paused at the window to glance inside the operating theatre.

Elinor glanced up at him from her book. "Calm down, Hudson. Lightning will be fine. This isn't the first operation he's had, and I seriously doubt it will be his last."

"I know, but it is possible for things to go wrong, even in such a minor operation as this."

It was a few days later, and Lightning was at the hospital undergoing the operation to remove his Wisdom teeth. As family, Doc and Elinor had been the only ones allowed anywhere near the operating theatre. Sally and Mater were waiting upstairs in a waiting room.

Doc looked through the window again. He knew exactly what the orthodontic surgeon was doing to Lightning. After the young racer had been anaesthetised, the surgeon had deliberately dislocated his jaw before inserting a gag to keep his mouth open. It look horrendous and extremely painful to those who'd never seen it before, but Doc had, so he wasn't bothered by it. He was just concerned that Lightning might stop breathing, like he had during the operation he'd had shortly before his father was murdered. He'd informed the anaesthetist and the surgeon of that fact before they'd started this operation, because he knew that if a car had stopped breathing once before during an operation, the chances of it happening again doubled.

Finally, Doc saw the surgeon remove the gag and reset Lightning's jaw back into position. They then moved Lightning into the recovery room. Doc knew what would happen in there. They'd talk to Lightning and try to make him wake up. The moment he reacted, they'd leave him alone, knowing that he'd be okay. It was just to ensure that the anaesthetic was wearing off normally.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the surgeon drove into the waiting area.

"You're right, Dr Hudson. He sure is feisty!"

"What did he say?" Elinor asked, closing her book.

"He didn't say anything," the surgeon replied. "He lashed out at the nurse who tried to shake him awake. I don't think she was quite expecting to receive his autograph in that manner!"

Doc chuckled. Yes, Lightning would be okay.

"I should've taken your advice and clamped his wheels down after we'd anesthetised him," the surgeon continued. "That's been done now. He's not going anywhere! Not for a little while at least."

"When can he be released from hospital?" Elinor asked.

"Probably in the morning, depending on how well he recovers overnight. I don't like operating on race cars. They're much too sensitive to these things."

Doc frowned. "He will be okay though, won't he?"

"I don't see why not. I'd better get back to him now. Why don't you head on upstairs? We'll bring him up in a few minutes."

…

Lightning groaned. Something was hurting him terribly, but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. He opened his mouth to speak, but then he gasped. His whole mouth was burning in agony.

"Don't try to talk, Stickers," Sally said, although her voice sounded like it was coming from far away. "Just take a few deep breaths and calm down. You're okay…"

Sally's voice helped Lightning relax. Following her advice, he took several deep breaths. Once he'd calmed down, he slowly blinked open his eyes. He sighed when he saw that he was back in his hospital room. Sally, Mater, Doc and Elinor were in the room with him.

"It's all over now," Sally told him soothingly, gently stroking his tyre with her own. "Does your mouth hurt?"

Lightning nodded carefully. His jaw hurt too.

Doc pressed a button, and a moment later, a nurse entered the room.

"He needs more morphine," Doc informed the nurse.

Without saying a word, the nurse picked up Lightning's chart. After reading it, she wrote something down on it. She then did something to the drip that was attached to Lightning's fuel tank inlet.

"There now, Mr McQueen. That should make you more comfortable."

Lightning nodded his thanks. Smiling, the nurse left the room. Lightning closed his eyes. The morphine was already making him feel drowsy. Seeing that Lightning was about to fall asleep, Doc quietly ushered the others out of the room.

Lightning was discharged from the hospital the following morning, on the strict order that he wasn't allowed to drive any more than necessary or go any faster than fifty miles an hour for a period of twenty-four hours. But the way Lightning felt, he was sure he'd sleep for a week!

…

Lightning didn't exactly sleep for a week, but just over a week after his operation, Doc entered his room at the crack of dawn.

"Get yourself up, son! It's time to get you back into training."

Groaning with annoyance, Lightning threw a pillow at him. "Go away!"

Doc retaliated by pulling Lightning's blankets off him. "If you're not up within the next thirty seconds, I will blast you with cold air from the air conditioner!"

Opening his eyes a bit, Lightning gave Doc a mischievous grin. "Race you to the butte?"

Doc smiled. Then he chuckled. "You're on! Let's go!" And he took off out of the house.

Lightning chuckled. _I think it'll take him a few minutes to figure out that I've tricked him_, he thought as he settled back down to get another forty winks.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Doc burst back into Lightning's room. He was breathing heavily and he looked furious.

"LIGHTNING BLAZE MCQUEEN!"

Lightning grinned sheepishly. Yup, he was in for it now… Again.


End file.
